[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19447-19448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9566]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Kennewick and Columbia Irrigation Districts Pump Exchange 
Feasibility Study, Washington

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and to conduct public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) on the Kennewick and Columbia Irrigation Districts Pump Exchange 
Feasibility Study, Washington. The purpose of this project is to 
evaluate opportunities to increase and improve streamflows in the lower 
Yakima River between the Prosser Diversion Dam and the mouth of the 
Yakima River during the irrigation season by investigating a water 
exchange project in the lower portion of the Yakima River or the 
electrification of the Chandler hydraulic pumps. Alteration of current 
conditions in this reach could improve spawning and rearing habitat and 
migration conditions for anadromous fish. Alternatives being considered 
are partial or full Yakima-Columbia River water exchange, or 
electrification of the Chandler Pumping Plant. Reclamation is 
requesting early public comment and agency input to help identify 
significant issues or other alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held on the following dates and times:
     Kennewick, WA: May 1, 2002, Open Houses 12 pm to 1 pm and 
6 pm

[[Page 19448]]

to 7 pm; Meetings 1 to 3 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm.
    Written comments will be accepted through June 3, 2002, for 
inclusion in the scoping summary document.
    The meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Please direct requests for sign language interpretation 
for the hearing impaired, or other auxiliary aids, to David Kaumheimer 
by April 17, 2002, at the telephone, fax or TTY relay numbers listed 
under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests to be added to the mailing list may be 
submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office, 
Attention: David Kaumheimer, Environmental Programs Manager, 1917 Marsh 
Road, Yakima, Washington 98907-1749.
    The scoping meetings will be held at the following location:
     West Coast Hotel Kennewick, North 1101 Columbia Center 
Blvd, Kennewick WA, 99336.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Kaumheimer, Environmental 
Programs Manager, (509) 575-5848, extension 232, or fax: (509) 454-
5611. TTY users may call (509) 575-5848 by dialing 711 to obtain a toll 
free TTY relay.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Disclosure

    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

Background

    Reclamation has undertaken this study as one potential means to 
augment instream flow in the lower Yakima River and benefit anadromous 
fish under the authority of Title XII, Phase 2 of the Yakima River 
Basin Water Enhancement Project, in Public Law 103-434 (Title XII), 
which was passed by the Congress on October 31, 1994. Public Law 106-
372, which amended Title XII, authorized an engineering feasibility 
report of the Chandler Pump Exchange, as well as electrifying the pumps 
at the Chandler Pumping Plant at Prosser Diversion Dam, Washington. 
Alternatives being considered include either a partial or full Yakima-
Columbia River water exchange, or the electrification of the Chandler 
Pumping Plant.
    Water exchange would entail pumping water from the Columbia River 
near the mouth of the Yakima River into the Kennewick Irrigation 
District (KID) and Columbia Irrigation District (CID) canals and 
reducing the amount of water diverted from the Yakima River at the 
current points of diversion. One of the alternatives being considered 
is a partial exchange of KID's full Yakima River diversion. It would 
involve diverting about \2/3\ of KID's total 333 cfs diversion from the 
Columbia River and continuing to divert the remainder at Prosser Dam on 
the Yakima River. Another alternative is a full exchange which would 
totally eliminate the diversion of water from the Yakima River to the 
KID canal. Both alternatives would involve pumping approximately 116 
cfs of CID's total existing Yakima River diversion from the Columbia 
River.
    The alternative of electrification of the Chandler Pumping Plant 
would involve replacing the existing hydraulic pumps in the pumping 
plant with electric pumps to pump Yakima River water into KID's main 
canal at the current point of diversion. The Chandler Pumping Plant is 
located at the end of the Chandler Canal into which water is diverted 
at Prosser Dam. Replacing the hydraulic pumps with electric pumps would 
eliminate the need to divert water at Prosser Dam to drive the 
hydraulic pumps leaving up to 450 cfs in the 11 mile reach of the 
Yakima River from Prosser Dam to the Chandler Pumping Plant. No 
exchange with CID would take place under this alternative.

Public Involvement

    Reclamation plans to conduct public scoping meetings to solicit 
input on the alternatives developed to address stream flows in the 
lower Yakima River between Prosser Dam and the mouth of the river, and 
impacts associated with those alternatives. Reclamation will summarize 
comments received during the scoping meetings and written comments 
received during the scoping period, identified under DATES, into a 
scoping summary document which will be made available to the public.

    Dated: April 11, 2002.
Darryl Beckmann,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 02-9566 Filed 4-18-02; 8:45 am]
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